McSheffrey Moves Clear

Birmingham City`s Gary McSheffrey has moved 106 points clear of his nearest rival in The Actim Index, the Official Player Ratings of the Coca-Cola Championship, after his match-winning goal and performance in the 1-0 victory over Stoke City.

The former Coventry City forward met Nicklas Bendtner's fine cross at the far post in the 74th minute with a bullet header, claiming all three points for the Blues. Actim Stats reveal that this season McSheffrey has contributed 14 goals, 95 shots, 59 tackles, two clearances, 12 interceptions, five blocks, 33 dribbles, 87 crosses and 373 passes in 2,810 minutes of football.

Birmingham`s second highest-ranked player is on-loan striker Nicklas Bendtner. The 19-year-old Danish striker has so far scored eight league goals this season. He has also had 49 shots at goal and made 36 tackles, eight clearances, 13 interceptions, one block, 34 dribbles, 15 crosses and 262 passes in 2,286 minutes of first team action.

The Actim Index is calculated using a unique mathematical formula that rates each player`s contribution be it goals, shots, passes, dribbles, tackles, crosses, saves, clearances, blocks, interceptions, time on the pitch or number of points gained by the team with marks deducted for red and yellow cards. Two additional calculations, which take account of player assists and goalkeeper`s clean sheets, have been added for the new season to increase the amount of variables a player is now measured by.

Analysis of all Championship games is taking place throughout the season and so far the top five Birmingham City players are:

Player/Ranking/Position Ranking/Index Score

Gary McSheffrey, 1, Highest Ranked Striker, 619

Nicklas Bendtner, 14, 9th Highest Ranked Striker, 413

Maik Taylor, 22, 4th Highest Ranked, Goalkeeper, 389

Rowan Vine, 43, 13th Highest Ranked Striker, 355

Radhi Jaidi, 44, 11th Highest Ranked Defender, 355

The list of the Top 100 players and Top 5 players by position will be available free of charge from the Actim website: www.pa sport.com/en/products/actim.html which will be updated during the football season every Tuesday for the Barclays Premiership and every Thursday for The Coca-Cola Championship.